Protection of personal data

The following information relates to the protection of your personal data. This is the data that allows you to be identified, directly or indirectly, such as your first name, surname, e-mail address and IP address.

Personal data is collected when:

• You surf on the pages of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. In your browser, those pages begin with ‘https://travel.info-coronavirus.be/’.
  When a link takes you to another portal site, a website, an online application or a social network, you must check the terms and conditions for the processing of personal data used by those responsible for those services;
• You contact us;
• You fill out the online form.

You are protected in accordance with:

• European Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (entered into force on 25 May 2018) on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR).
• The Belgian Data Protection Act of 30 July 2018.

1. Legal bases and purposes of the processing operations

23 MAY 2001. - Royal Decree establishing the Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety & Environment;

Art. 6(1)(c) of the GDPR (processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject); 

Art. 18 of the Ministerial Decree of 30 June 2020 regarding urgent measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

Personal data is collected and processed with the aim of:

• making a risk analysis regarding your stay abroad upon your arrival in Belgium,
• informing you of a potential health risk,
• finding out who you had contact with as part of contact tracing,
• answering your questions.

Data is also collected and processed anonymously: 

• For statistical and qualitative purpose, with the aim of improving our services.

If your request for information or services is intended for another department, we provide you with the particulars of that department and you are free to choose whether or not to contact them.

2. Processed data 

In the situations listed in the table below, personal data is collected and processed automatically.

3. Use of cookies

This website uses cookies.

A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site.

Below you can find an overview of the cookies used on this website, more information on the possible types of cookies used, and how cookies can be deleted.

3.1. Use of cookies

The names of the cookies used by this site and their purpose are set out below.

3.2. Cookie types

There are several cookie types which can be distinguished as follows.

1. Purpose-based

Technical essential cookies are essential for pure technical reasons when you use a website, e.g. authentication cookies that are stored when you log in to a website.

Functional cookies are placed to ensure that the website is functioning properly, according to users' expectations, e.g. language preference.

For the use of technical essential cookies and functional cookies it is not required to ask for the explicit consent of the user in advance. The basis for their use is the legitimate interest of the internet user or of the data controller.

2. Owner-based

First-party cookies are cookies set by the website you are visiting. Only that website can read them.

Third-party cookies are cookies that are not set by the website you are visiting, but because the website makes use of social media or advertising.  This website does not use this type of cookies.

3. Duration-based

Session cookies only exist for the duration of your session and are deleted automatically when you quit your browser.

Persistent cookies are cookies saved on your computer and remain there until their expiry date unless you remove them before.

3.3. Accept or delete cookies

Technical essential cookies are set automatically and are also deleted automatically when you quit your browser.

For functional cookies you will be prompted to accept or refuse them when you first visit the website. The accepted cookies are deleted automatically upon their expiry date, or when you remove them yourself.

As a visitor of our website you can manage your accepted cookies via the Edit cookies settings Pop Up.

4. Storage Duration

The storage duration:

• of your IP address is the duration of your session  
• of the cookies: see section '3) Use of cookies'
• of the exchanges through the form: 28 days

In exceptional cases, such as in the context of legal proceedings, your personal data may be stored for a longer period. 

5. Security

The Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment guarantees the security (integrity and confidentiality) of your personal data.  It is protected against unauthorised access, unauthorised use, loss and unauthorised changes.

To this end, we use security methods and procedures that we will not describe in detail here for security reasons.

Appropriate physical, technical and organisational measures are taken to guarantee a level of security that is appropriate with regard to the risks.

6. Right of inspection, modification, objection and deletion

You have certain rights relating to the personal data that we use: the right of inspection, the right of modification, the right to object and the right to have data deleted.

Your application will be processed within 30 calendar days. If your application is complex or if our department has to deal with a large number of applications, that period may be extended by 60 days.

Please send an e-mail or letter to our Data Protection Officer together with a scanned or paper copy of your identity document containing your signature to the following address in order to exercise your rights:

DPO.PHA@health.fgov.be

C/O Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment

Eurostation II
Place Victor Horta, 40 box 10
1060 Brussels

7. Data transfer

In the context of contact tracing we may transfer your data to the health authorities of the Belgian Regions and Communities.

8. Complaints

If you consider that the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment has not processed your personal data in accordance with the applicable regulations, you are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority:

Data Protection Authority
Rue de la Presse 35
1000 Brussels
E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be

9. Contact details

For more information about our data protection policy, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at: DPO.PHA@health.fgov.be